Apple Oatmeal Muffins

Baking on Saturday afternoons has become a weekly ritual. After working on my computer from my couch all week, I like to be up on my feet on the days in between. Reaching high for bags of flour, plucking spices from the rack, grabbing my camera and hopping up onto the chair for an overhead shot, trying not to step on Cookie on the way down—it’s a dance of sorts.

I’m getting steadier in my steps and also in my substitutions. Following recipes to a T is not my forté. I find a concept I like and a recipe that seems prime for adaptation, and switch things up as I go along. I’m learning what to swap for what, what can be added freely and what must be compensated by a reduction in another ingredient.

A few weekends ago, I got to thinking about those glorious gala apples in my fridge and how badly I wanted to bake with them. I decided to make apple muffins—I envisioned hearty, moist oatmeal muffins studded with red-skinned apple bits and flecked with cinnamon. I skipped a trip to the UPS store and stayed home to bake.

I searched through my evernote account and came across this oatmeal blueberry muffin recipe by Joy the Baker. Her recipe called for apple sauce, which seemed like a perfect match for apple muffins. Joy called them “surprisingly moist and delicious”, and from a girl with “the utmost respect and admiration for butter and fat”, I knew I’d found a winner. Joy never steers me wrong.

I dialed up Ella Fitzgerald on my old iPod and commenced my Saturday baking ritual. I was out of regular milk so I couldn’t make buttermilk, but I did have leftover coconut milk. I squeezed lemon juice into the coconut milk like I would for buttermilk and it seemed to have a similar reaction.

It was a game day; I looked out the window and watched traffic build on Boyd Street. I traded the brown sugar for Muscovado sugar, which I had picked up the weekend before at West Side Market in Cleveland. I chopped apples while empathizing with Ella’s sad tomato, Hannah the busted Valentine. I sprinkled cardamom and ginger into the batter; slightly exotic spices seemed like a good match for coconut.

I divvied up the batter into my muffin tin as I noticed a steady stream of crimson-clad OU fans walking toward Campus Corner and the stadium. Game time approaching, it was time to sell parking. I set the timer and Cookie and I skipped downstairs. Twenty minutes later, I went upstairs and brought warm muffins down to my friends. They got thumbs up and approvals all around.

I found that the muffins tasted even better the next day. They’re pretty big muffins—not jumbo-sized like the processed muffin monstrosities you find at coffee shops—but big enough to eat for breakfast with peanut butter, coconut butter or apple butter. Mmm, butter.

I know that your kitchen may not be stocked with coconut milk, coconut oil and Muscovado sugar, so feel free to substitute with the ingredients in parentheses. But please, dance along to Ms. Fitzgerald’s sweet jazz as you bake. It’s an experience.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in your applesauce mixture. Stir until just moist.

Fold in the chopped apples. Fill muffin cups ⅔ to ¾ full.

Sprinkle raw sugar and a light dusting of nutmeg on top of the muffins.

Bake for 16-18 minutes. Since these muffins contain fresh fruit, they will spoil more quickly than regular muffins. Try storing them in the refrigerator if you don't intend to finish them within a day or two, or store them in the freezer for longer-term storage.

Baking hearty moist muffins on a Saturday morning is the best. And Ella Fitzgerald (and Billie Holiday) is my absolute favorite thing to listen to while I bake. (!) I agree with you–it’s an experience.

Ahaha… I totally relate to the “dance” of baking. I live in a small apartment, and therefore all of my cooking supplies have a specific place, usually behind or under some other cooking object, in order to make room for everything. The rhythm I have mastered of reaching, measuring, and putting things back, washing dishes and wiping counters, has become a part of the pride I have in my baking skills. Great post.

I have to say, I love the picture you painted in my mind of you in your kitchen :D And I know just what you mean about the “dance” of baking, although mine is rarely to music but is always around small children. Your muffins look like just my kind of muffins – lots of apple flavor and plenty of spices :D And they look delicious too.

I love Ella during a sweet Saturday baking session, although Adele has been on the rotation quite a bit these days. As for these glorious apple muffins you’ve made – I want a few right now… and then a few more for breakfast. Definitely going to dance my way through a batch of these asap :) xx

I love muffins like these…I might need to make some for my mama, she’d love them too!
Also, I have to say, Cookie is absolutely beautiful kathryne…

I’m in awe.

A few weeks ago, my boy, the sweetest little handsome dachshund I grew up with let us know it was his time. It’s been really really hard. He had such a great life and made it to 17!!

Here, seeing pictures of Cookie brings me happiness, such a beauty… I can truly see her gentle loyalty through the screen, she’s perfect.
I just wanted to pop in and say thank you for your very sweet comment yesterday. It means a lot.

There are so many things that are so awesome about this post: I’m with you on the weekend baking – I sit SO MUCH that I love the feeling of running around my kitchen, reaching for pans, and tiring my arms out stirring. Ella is a beautiful pairing for weekend baking..aand Cookie. She is the cutest! I love that the inspiration came from a search through your Evernote account! I have hundreds of recipes in Evernote and it’s my first go-to when I start from scratch (I’m biased, but it’s true!) xx

These were delicious! I made 12 apple and 12 blueberry. I subbed ground flax for the oil and added walnuts. They were just sweet enough for my little boys to devour them! I put them in the freezer for quick breakfasts. Thanks for sharing!

I just finished making these today and they smell delicious! I figured out the calorie count for the ones I made (I had regular buttermilk instead of lowfat and I used brown sugar and canola oil. At the end, I sprinkled on 3/4 Tbsp sanding sugar instead of the turbinado.)

Mine came out to 168 calories per muffin, with 3.8 grams of fat and 3.3 grams of fiber. Just perfect for breakfast and it helped me use up a lonely apple! Thanks!

Sorry CL, sounds like it needed some more time in the oven! I have not tried making these muffins in a square pan but whenever I make changes like that, I try to test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, I know it’s done, but if not, I put it back in the oven to bake for a few more minutes.

These bad boys are in the oven. Great recipe – thanks Kate. The cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon and dark sugar create the most wonderful aroma while baking. Look forward to digging in to one while still warm, slathered in coconut butter.

Good question, Ana. I don’t think they would rise as high as they would with a glutenous flour. I’m not sure how they would turn out, but oat flour definitely sounds like a good fit. Please let us know if you try it.

Yes! They can be made with buckwheat flour if you use 1/2 buckwheat and 1/2 whole wheat flour. I made a mistake & started with the buckwheat. After looking on the internet for equal exchanges, the 1/2 and 1/2 thing is what I found would work. So, I just doubled the recipe & it is FANTASTIC! I used the “normal” ingredients, not the “fancy” ones! :)

I made these yesterday for an after school snack. They were a hit! I used the buttermilk option and whole wheat pastry flour (instead of regular whole wheat flour). Delicious. The chunks of apple were our favorite part.
I mixed in a sprinkle of candied ginger into the last two muffins and it was divine. I’ll add some to all the batter next time.

I’m late to the party, but I just made these yesterday and I’m in LOVE. I subbed out half a cup of the oats and replaced with oat bran and used Fuji apples instead of Gala. So delicious. Having one with a cup of tea as we speak :)

I just made these muffins, and they are amazing! I substituted oat flour for the whole wheat flour, and they came out perfectly. I think the applesauce is key when using oat flour, as it helps hold the muffin together. I also took your suggestion of serving them with apple butter. Delicious!

Made these with my toddler this afternoon, and the whole family is enjoying them. I really like that they are not too sweet The almost-two year old says to say, “hanno” (hello) to Kate and has been asking to see the picture of Cookie non-stop. Thanks for sharing!

I just made these with some substitutions – YUM! I used whole spelt as its my preference, 1/4 raw sugar And a generous squeeze of honey as I didn’t have either muscovado or dark sugar on hand and also realised I ran out of eggs midway through making so I used a flax egg (first time) and also used one sweet apple and one tart Granny Smith! I just had a taste out of the oven and it’s incredible, and I know they’ll taste better tomorrow morning as I have tried the base recipe before! Thanks for sharing your delicious version, perfect Winter muffin!

These just came out of the oven! So good. The perfect health muffin! I didn’t have any lemon or coconut milk on hand, but I did have heavy whipping cream. So, I mixed 1/2 whipping cream and half almond milk. This worked out just fine! I will definitely make them again….and again! Thanks!

Hey D, I’m sorry the muffins turned out a little dry. I’m not sure what went wrong. I’d guess that maybe they were slightly over baked, or maybe you used a little too much flour? I use the scoop and sweep flour measuring method… fluff up the flour with a big spoon, spoon flour in the measuring cup and then level it with a knife. I’m not sure what else could be the culprit!

Hi Kate,
I tried a couple of your recipes recently and they have all turned out great! Thank you! These muffins were also really good, but they seem to have gone bad after 2 days– I think it might be the apples I used? Just checking to see if you’ve experienced this. Thanks!

Hey Ruby, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes! I’m sorry your muffins went bad so quickly, though. I’ve run into that with other fruity desserts. Since they contain moist fruit, I think they are liable to spoil quickly. Try keeping your muffins in the fridge next time and they should last for a few more days, or you can freeze them for longer term storage. I’ll add a note to the recipe about that now.

Mel, I’m sorry for the slow response! Thank you very much for your comment. I’m glad you picked up on my buttermilk trick! It’s handy. I’m glad the muffins turned out great! I “accidentally” dropped some chopped celery and yellow squash on the floor for Cookie tonight. She’ll eat anything!

It’s Sunday, and I was hoping to find a great apple muffin recipe to cook with my four year old this fall morning so we can take some of the chill out of the house. This looks perfect! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for sharing this recipe. It has become my go to recipe when I make muffins. I make mine using the substitutions, making my own buttermilk using skim milk and lemon juice, and make my own brown sugar using splenda and molasses. I make a double batch and freeze them.

Thank you for this super yummy recipe! I made these for an upcoming road trip and added 3/4 cup chopped walnuts to make them higher in protein for breakfast muffins. I also only used 1/4 cup brown sugar and added 1/4 tsp concentrated stevia powder (from the nutrition store-not the kind they sell in the baking isles of grocery stores) and used regular buttermilk. They came out moist and delicious. The spice mix you came up with is very nice…. good with apples and also I made a batch with blueberries both were fabulous. Definitely a go-to recipe. I can even imagine myself swapping out the apple sauce for pumpkin come fall. Thank you so much!

Wow, these are the best apple muffins I’ve ever had. I used homemade kefir for the buttermilk, otherwise as listed. I had 2 already and they’re not even cooled! And I can’t even tell the apples still have skins. Thanks for the seasonal recipe.

Very rarely do I comment on recipes, but I was in the mood for some healthy fall muffins and I ran across this recipe. Man, they hit the spot! So delicious!! And the house smells great as well. Thanks so much!

These are very most and dense. Cooking with coconut oil usually has a pretty strong taste, but the flavor here was delicious warm apple and cardamon. I’ve made them several times and my family loves them. They are moist enough that I don’t have to apologize to my kids for making something entirely while wheat. Thank you for the recipe.

Substituted half a cup of oats for almond flour.
Wheat flour for coconut flour
Sugar for quarter cup of honey and a bit of stevia
Cup of applesauce for half cup of applesauce, half cup of coconut oil
The two tablespoons of coconut oil, I’ve replaced one tablespoon with butter. Just bc it improves the texture of the baking.

So definitely not the lowest calorie muffin I’ve made, but I’d say was worth it because it was pretty yummy <3

I live in a place where they don’t sell applesauce, and apples are expensive. Because of that, and making your own applesauce is a more work than I want to do right now, what do you recommend as a substitute? I know applesauce usually replaces oil, so oil could replace the applesauce, but that would be too much oil I think. How about plain yogurt?

These turned out so yummy, only I felt guilty giving kids sugar for breakfast. Anyone tried these without any added sweeteners (only fruit)? Please let me know what you substituted that worked. Thank you. ❤️

This recipe is great without sugar too! I used 1/2 c dates, 1/4 c raisins, 1/4 c prunes in place of the sugar. Also used flaxmeal instead of regular egg. Instead of chopped apples, I used carrots. I added 1/3 c chopped walnuts too.

I used a food processor for the wet ingredients including dry fruit and carrots. I then added the combined dry items to the wet.

Thanks very much! I loved this recipe. I made few substitutions (buttermilk – half yogurt, half milk and smashed oats) and covered with sugar, nutmeg and almonds. The texture is amazing.. And fluffy! Thanks for sharing! :)

Made these last Sunday to have for breakfast throughout the week…they were a huge hit. My fiance and I love them; the perfect grab-n-go! So delicious and satisfying. I topped mine with some cinnamon sugar :) Thanks for sharing and looking forward to trying some of your other recipes.

Hi Kate,
My daughter and I have just made a double batch of these muffins and let me tell you, they are oh, so good! I altered a few things based on what I had in my pantry and what I ran out of halfway through, but they still worked so well. I used Granny Smiths instead of Gala apples as I didn’t have any, I didn’t have any cardamom, so I substituted cloves, and I ran out of applesauce (totally misjudged how much was left in the jar) and made up the difference with cranberry sauce. In fact, the applesauce component was probably 1/4 applesauce, 3/4 cranberry sauce, and my daughter was worried because she really doesn’t care for cranberries, but when we shared one to try it, between the muscovado sugar, the spices, and the apple, you can’t even taste the cranberry sauce. I also left off the topping because they seemed like enough of a sweet carb load without it, and they are definitely sweet enough for us. She has happily taken one packed in her lunch box to school and I plan to freeze half of what’s left and try and not gobble too many myself.
Thanks for a great recipe!